Shenandoah "Shenandoah" (Columbia Records, 1987)
(Produced by Rick Hall & Robert Byrne)
This is the debut album by this slick country outfit...
Shenandoah "The Road Not Taken" (Columbia Records, 1989)
(Produced by Rick Hall & Robert Byrne)
Another slickly produced outing... Resolutely sentimental, and oddly enough, sonically richer and more rewarding than their subsequent albums, which sounded much more tinny and "'Eighties" than this one, which actually was produced in the '80s. It's pretty sappy, but skillfully made. Besides, Marty Raybon has a pretty nice voice. There were several #1 hits on here-- "Sunday In The South," "Two Dozen Roses" and "The Church On Cumberland Road" -- and three more in the Top Ten.
Shenandoah "Extra Mile" (Columbia Records, 1990)
(Produced by Rick Hall and Robert Byrne)
Like many bands in the early '90s, Shenandoah's production style was a hangover from the previous decade, with tinkly keyboards and airy production on the treble end. Fortunately, they also subscribed to the bouncier side of the pop equation: loping melodic numbers like "Next To You, Next To Me" (the album's #1 hit) and "She Makes The Coming Home (Worth The Being Gone)" are pretty durn fun, even if most of the slower songs drag the rest of the album to a halt (though "Daddy's Little Man" is a heart-tugging parenting song that's kid of sweet...) Overall, these guys were perfectly fine; there's certainly lots worse out there you could hear. Plus, it's refreshing that, unlike many country harmony groups, Shenandoah had a lead singer -- Marty Raybon -- who could actually sing quite well. Not sure if there's anything worthwhile on here that a good best-of collection wouldn't cover, though.
Shenandoah "Long Time Comin' " (RCA, 1992)
(Produced by Robert Byrne and Keith Stegall)
Kind of on the sleepy side, though Marty Raybon's voice is really nice to listen to. There are a couple of mildly engaging mid-tempo tunes -- "Rock Me Baby" was the big hit -- and plenty of slower, sappy tunes. One big surprise is the emotional resonance of the gospel-themed nostalgia tune, "Wednesday Night Prayer Meetin'," which looks wistfully back at an old country church... This album is filled with safe, slow material; didnŐt really grab me, though it is easy on the ears, and reasonably rootsy.
Shenandoah "Under The Kudzu" (RCA, 1993)
(Produced by Don Cook)
A pretty likeable, relatively down-to-earth album whose #1 hit, "If Bubba Can Dance (I Can, Too)" takes an affectionate poke at the then-booming line-dancing scene. Other tunes, like "Janie Baker's Love Slave" and "If It Takes Every Rib I've Got," are nice, no-nonsense, no-brainer honkytonk-pop novelty tunes that thump along at a nice clip. A few other songs go overboard, like the drippy ballad, "I Want To Be Loved Like That" (the albums other big hit), and some of the dorkier tunes drag on a bit as well... Overall, though, this ain't bad for a band whose glory days supposedly had come and gone several years earlier. Worth checking out, particularly if you're already a fan.
Shenandoah "Now And Then" (Capitol Records, 1996)
Wellll... this is sort of a best-of set, though actually these are re-recordings of their Columbia hits with a few new songs thrown in as well. Probably a big bummer if you were looking for the originals... Personally, I count records like this as new releases, not as retrospectives.
Shenandoah "In The Vicinity Of The Heart" (Liberty Records, 1994)
(Produced by Don Cook)
Shenandoah "Shenandoah Christmas" (Capitol Records, 1996)
(Produced by Mike Bradley, Don Cook & Nancy H. Williams)
Shenandoah "Fifteen Favorites" (Capitol Records, 1999)
Also re-recordings...
Shenandoah "2000" (Free Falls Records, 2000)
(Produced by Shenandoah)
This Raybon-less edition of the band has little to offer old fans... or anyone else, really. The songs are all pretty tired and by-the-numbers, and as earnest as lead singer Brent Lamb might try to be, he ain't no Marty Raybon. You can skip this one.
Shenandoah "Journeys" (Cumberland Road Records, 2006)
(Produced by Shenandoah)
Shenandoah "Good News Travels Fast" (Daywind Roots Records, 2016)
(Produced by Chad Green, Billy Lawson, Bud McGuire & Mark McGuire)
An all-gospel set which includes vocals from Marty Raybon, who rejoined the group a couple of years earlier for a reunion tour. The set features a couple of songs written by producer-engineer Billy Lawson, who had a very brief fling at a solo career in the early 1990s, but settled instead into a spot behind the console. Southern gospel/Contemporary Christian singer Karen Peck contributes vocals.
Shenandoah "Reloaded" (BMG Music, 2018)
A live album, mostly, with a bunch of their old hits performed in concert, capped off with three new studio tracks at the end. The album title refers, I guess, to the return of Marty Raybon and an original-ish lineup of the old band.
Shenandoah "Every Road" (Foundry Records, 2020)
(Produced by Buddy Cannon)
Marty Raybon ris still on board for this one, and rather than dip into career nostalgia, the group came up with a whole set of all-new material. A whole bunch of guest performers on this one, with new and new-ish artists such as Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, The Zac Brown Band, Cody Johnson, Lady A, Ashley McBryde, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton and Carly Pearce all joining the party.
The vocal band Shenandoah were one of the most potent country ensembles of the late 1980s and 1990s... Lead singer Marty Raybon provided the band's soulful core; following his departure in 1997, the band dissolved for several years and then reformed in a Raybon-less edition. Although they enjoyed great success on the country charts, a series of lawsuits over the use of the "Shenandoah" band name depleted the group's profits, and it was a struggle for them to reestablish themselves in the 1990s... Nonetheless, Shenandoah were one of the best bands of the era, the kind of modern country band that give "top forty" a good name. Here's a quick look at their work...
Shenandoah "Super Hits" (Columbia Records, 1994)
The Raybon Brothers "The Raybon Brothers" (MCA Records, 1997)
